Nikon announced a new consumer SLR, the 10 megapixel D60 – replacing the Nikon D40x. Nothing new here except a few differentiators:
Its expected to be around $850ish with a new VR (Vibration Reduction) 18-55 Lens. My search for a full frame under <$2,000 DSLR continues…..
Nikon USA - D60 Specs
At last – the Eye-Fi, which was announced last year, is now shipping for just $100 for a decent capacity of 2GB. Unfortunately, my Nikon D70 takes only a CompactFlash, or else I would have placed the first order for Eye-Fi
What is Eye-Fi?
Its a SD card which wirelessly uploads the pictures you take with any camera to websites like Flickr (or even online printing services). And as a bonus, it also send a cc: of the picture to your computer/laptop for backup.
Truly a technical evolution!. If only they crammed a GPS unit inside that card… maybe next year, G-Fi !
Someone at BMW must have a weird sense of humor to build one of these or April1st is early this year. Its called “BMW Camper” specially designed to fit a Beamers back – where 2 people can comfortably camp-out. At first glance I thot it was a special airbag to get back at tailgaters or protect against fender benders or a parachute to drag down the supersonic speed of the beamers. Eitherway, I should get one of these BMWButts for my 325 
Closely following the heels of Sony, which announced more consumer HDV cameras 2 days back. Canon today announced 2 new HDV cameras. The XH-G1 and XH-A1 are based on the HDV tape format. With this new camera, there is very less reasons to go with the more expensive Canon XL-H1 ($9000), except for the removable lens and a few pro connections.
These 2 cameras are priced from $4000-$6000. Unfortunately, like HVX200, Sony FX1, Sony Z1u they don’t have real manual lenses, but have these fixed ever spinning focus lenses.
An Italian Director has completed a full 90 min movie using his cellphone. Amazingly no post production work done to the footage to cleanup the aliasing or to bump up the resolution.
Shot with a Nokia 90 in the MPEG-4 codec with a miniscule budget of mere $1000+, this movie is an assimilation of interviews about love and eroticism shot on Italian beaches. They didnt use any special lighting – just a small pocket light did the trick most of the time.
The writing was on the wall ever since cellphones were able to record more than 15 sec movie clips. My 2003 $500 Sanyo used to record video without sound, now even a entry level camera has a video camera in it.
Can’t wait to see a bootleg copy of the film, shot inside the theater with another camera phone
Sharp has introduced a 3D Lappie. Wow!
What are the big boys up to, a company roundup:
I guess it would be great for advertizing – mmm… pizza
HD100 when it was released last Oct – ran into rough waters with its split-screen issues and lack of 60P (for reality look & slowmo). Now it has updated its lineup to offer 2 more cameras based on HD100 design. The left column is the old camera, and the 2 right columns represent the 2 new cameras announced today.
| Features | GY-HD100U | GY-HD200U | GY-HD250U |
| Price | $5200 (w/lens) | $8000(w/lens) | $9000(no lens) |
| 720/60p [MiniDV Tape] |
No, only 720/30P (6GOP) | Yes at 4:2:0 (12GOP) | Yes at 4:2:0 (12GOP) |
| 720/60p [component out] |
Yes at 4:2:2 | Yes at 4:2:2 | Yes at 4:2:2 |
| (3) 1280×720 1/3″ CCD |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Colorspace | 4:2:0 (tape) & 4:2:2 (thro digitizer) |
4:2:0 (tape) & 4:2:2 (thro digitizer) |
4:2:0 (tape) & 4:2:2 (HD-SDI or digitizer) |
| HD-SDI | No | No | Yes |
| Word Clock | No | No | Yes |
| Gen-Lock | No | No | Yes |
| Flips Image | No | Yes | Yes |
| Enhanced Cinema Gamma | No | Yes | Yes |
| Accessories | DR-HD100U (Hard disk) KY-HD250 (studio adapter ) HZ-CA13U (Lens adapter for PL Lens) CCU connection (wire-remote) to control power, genlock, R/B gain, black level and intercom up to 330 feet |
||
| Availablity | Available Now | Oct 2006 | Oct 2006 |
Silicon Imaging has announced a 2/3CCD 1080p cam with interchangable lens for under $20K(!!). More info in their FAQ. They have a bare bones version for just $12,500!
2/3 chip camera is as good as it gets! All the cams I’ve mentioned before here are 1/3 chip cameras… 2/3 is usually really high end stuff reserved for the Rodriguezes and Sodenbergs…
Can’t wait for the weekend to see more announcements in the upcoming NAB (April 22-28 Las Vegas)
Those who watched Superbowl on Sunday might have noticed the wonderful Skycam in action. The change in perspective is startling for us folks who have been used to pretty ordinary cricket telecasts. Whenever we need to get closer to the player in field, we have always been used to a simple Zoom. But robotic Skycam flies down to that part of the field and shoots the player over his shoulder!
Skycam can any point in a specified 3D space as shown the illustration below. The Skycam has 3 components:
The whole unit is around 3feet and can fly as fast as 30mph. Now the most obvious question. Will it bump into a player, stopping play at a critical stage or even worse, what happens when the ball collides with the cam when flying towards the goal post?
The Skypath software takes care of it – the operator programs the shape of the object to look out for – like a cone, box, cube or in case of a ball, round.
I am sure they are working on a ball-cam and a bat-cam. Imagine seeing the point of view of a ball getting released from Shoaib Aktar’s hand at 150mph, hitting Lara’s bat darting skywards for a six, flying off the stadium towards the parking lot… to your car’s windshield at 100mph!
Sanyo has just released a sub-$1000 consumer pocket HD camera. Doesn’t have any indie shooting features, its purely a consumer pocket cam. Like my dream cam HVX200 – this one is tapeless solid state memory cam. Die tape Die!.
But it has successfully hit the magic under $1000 price tag - heck its not even sub $1000 – its only $799. In comparison the cheapest single chip Sony HD cam is around $1,700.
Is it a black XL2 ? Looks like it – but no, its the New HDV camera from Canon. Canon was holding its card tight until the last moment. When JVC and Panasonic was going media blasting with their HD Cameras everyone was looking at Canon – ‘Dude, are u going to say something?’ where is ur HD cam??‘. Now that Canon spilled the beans about its new HD Cam – there are two possiblities why it didnt announce it earlier in March at NAB @ Las Vegas (where traditionally new broadcast equipments are announced)
I think its a mix of both. Even though Canon knew of Panasonic and JVC’s plan 6 months back (coz they announced their plans back in March) its counter-offer is lukewarm at the best. But they are rushing to the market this November, one month before the Panasonic HD cam hits the market in December.
This new cam features:
Except the Interchangeable lens mount – no other featureset seems to hold interest for me. And its almost 2-3K more expensive than JVC HD100 (which has interchangeable lens mount too)
Sony today released another HD camcoder HDR-HC1 – the smallest ever. So now Sony has 3 HD camcoders – new HC1($1700), Fx1 ($3500), Z1u ($5000). It probably will have a 1/3″ CCD (/CMOS) given its price range. It does a 1080, interlaced of course, and a Cineframe 24p simulation.
With its pictbridge, 1-megapixel stills, Nightshot and assorted effects, it is clearly positioned as cheap HD for rich customers (else who would pay $1700 for a 1 CCD camcoder). Sweetening the deal further this camera also offers full manual controls, focus, zoom, shutter, and WB. If only it did a real 24p – it would rock. But most indie film makers would give it a pass considering its single CMOS design, and its lack of real 24p. Will Sony ever listen ? it burn its fingers with its consumer unfriendly policies in its music pods to Apple. Now, it is doing the same with its once wonderful camcoder unit and losing the race to Panasonic.
This camera will be available in July 2005.
Nikon did something unprecendented last week!
They announced sucessors to its blockbuster D70 – no, thats not the big news.. read on!
Whenever a new camera comes out – it invariably contains many new features, many innovations and improvements over the older versions. So Nikon D70s boast so many cool features than Nikon D70 (my camera). And people holding the older versions, like me, have 2 options – continue using the old camera (it still shoots) or fork out some dough and upgrade. Now Nikon did something that caught me off guard . They graciously announced a firmware upgrade (the software which runs the camera) which brings in many new features into the my older camera!
Kudos to Nikon! – They didnt lose a potential customer – but gained one.
So, my ‘old’ Nikon D70 will get an firmware injection which will bring Improved performance for the 5-area autofocus system’s Dynamic Area AF and Closest Subject Priority Dynamic Area AF modes. D50 lists for $899 and contain a new Nikon 18-55mm DX lens, and the D70s lists for $1,299 (with lens).
Its very rare find excellent customer service and excellent quality go hand in hand. If the above proves their customer oriented strategy, this link might prove their quality…hopefully
JVC yesterday retracted their pricing of 13x HD lens. Initially, it was announced for $6,995, now it is $12,995. That changes the whole equation. Bummer!
The main attraction of JVC HD-100 was its inter’changeable’ HD lens system. Which begs the question – change to what ? There are not many HD lenses which sell for under 3 zeros, most of them have four zeros ($20,000+), this 13x wide angle was announced as a high quality $6k lens. So the only option left is to rent these HD lenses. That would make sense, if… a big if, the camera delivers great quality+ future proof featureset- but on paper, Panasonic HVX200 (see table below) has better specs. It has 4:2:2 color sampling, variable frame rates from 4-60fps, low compression and shoots 1080/24p – so JVC is not in the same legue. They had one advantage “interchangeable lens system” now they have lost it. Lost it by pricing out the optional lenses.
So what now ?
Back to HVX200, and live with its fixed lens – and just hope that Century Optics makes a great WA adapter for HVX lens. It just goes on to show that each camera is a compromise or that cousins are looking out for each other. What cousins ? If you trace up the family tree, it would lead to common parent Matsushita.
JVC or Victor company as its called in Japan, is owned by Matsushita. And who does Matsushita also own ? Panasonic! So why is the same company fighting in the same marketplace with competing products ? Maybe thats the way Japs work.
Panasonic HVX200 becomes the first camera under $100,000 to record high-definition 1080/24p. The ONLY other camera is Sony’s CineAlta, a $100,000 camera which, Lucas and Rodriguez used in ‘Star Wars II’ and ‘Once upon a time in Mexico’. They both use Sony exclusvely
Also this $5995 camera does what a $65,000 Varicam does – variable frame rates! It can shoot any framerate from 4 to 60fps!.
Yes it is a wonderboy cam – it does all ‘good’ flavors of HD without its nasty after effects.
What does that mean ?
HD as HDV is popularly called, is a horrible format. Wait, before you flame me, hear it out. HDV is a consumer format, plain and simple. It has low color sampling (4:2:0) , high compressions. Also HDV specs dont have the indie favorite 24p recording. So smarter companies (read JVC, Panasonic) take the HDV standard and customize it.
JVC customized HDV as ProHDV – it made two simple changes – added 24p and relaxed the compression algorithms. Instead of compressing a group of 15 frames, it grouped only 6. But Panasonic went further and threw out interframe compression altogether and compressed each frame individually in its DVCPRO-HD format. Also it doubled color sampling from 4:2:0 it made it 4:2:2.
JVC and Panasonic has released their respective versions now. Its called HD100 and AG-HVX200
| Panasonic AG-HVX200 | JVC HD-100 | Sony Z1u | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoots in |
1080/60i 720/60p |
720/30p 720/24p |
1080/50i/60i | Clearly Pana |
| Progressive ? | Yes | Yes | No, Interlaced | JVC & Pana |
| Real 24p ? | Yes | Yes | NO! | JVC & Pana |
| Default Lens | 13x | 16x interchangeable | Clearly JVC | |
| Lens | Fixed | Real HD Manual Lens | Fixed | Clearly JVC |
| HD Flavor | DVCHD-PRO | PROHDV | HDV | Clearly Pana |
| Color Sampling | 4:2:2 | 4:2:0 | 4:2:0 | Clearly Pana |
| Recording | P2 Media & HDD | MiniDV Tape, HDD | MiniDV | JVC & Pana |
| Shutter | Variable! (4-60fps) | Clearly Pana | ||
| Audio | Less compressed | Compressed | Compressed | Panasonic |
| Compression | Within 1 frame | With group of 6 frames | Group of 15 frames | Clearly Pana |
| Form | Handycam | Should Mount | Handycam | JVC |
| Looks | Non Pro | Real Pro looks | Looks cool | JVC |
| Positives |
720 & 1080 |
Interchangeable HD Lens |
Shoots both NTSC/PAL | |
| Negatives |
Fixed Lens |
HDV Compression |
No 24p |
|
| Price | $5995 – Available Oct | $6295 – Available June | $5949 – Now! | |
 |
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Can it get any better than this ?
Yes, how about a 4:4:4 HD interchangeable 35mm lens camera !! – enter DRAKE… more details on it when it becomes available
WEVA site broke the news today morning (and was promptly taken down within hours) about the upcoming JVC HD cam. It offered a rare glimpse into what JVC has in store.
Its 24p proHDV cam (since HDV specs doesnt include 24p, JVC calls it proHDV)
If you notice it looks like it has a 1/3″ lens mount. Hmmm…. how many 1/3″ lenses have you seen ? For what its worth, they also said there is a 1/2″ adapter available. Thats much better.
Some words from the actual premature press release:
“In addition to providing superior quality HD recording in the 24p format, the GY-HD100U can output an uncompressed 720/P60 HD signal. This is ideal for live broadcasting, remote news and POV applications. A third party HDSDI converter can provide the full resolution uncompressed signal to an array of systems with no signal delay.”
Full resolution! – that elusive 4:2:2 comes to pro-sumer level! Or it can just mean another clichéd marketing jargon like ‘Ultimate Home Theater’ or ‘Full Digital
And it has a interchangable lens system! I always loved that flexiblity. Except Canon XL2, all pro-sumer camera’s dont have it. This includes DVX100, upcoming HDX100, FX1 and Z1u
Now I am sure this will give the just announced Panasonic HDX 100 a run for its money.
And, yes, if competitively priced – these two cams will kill Sony’s Z1u even before it left the hospital. Sad, I always loved a Sony. Having said that outside US Sony still commands respect among Indie filmmakers.
24p Cameras:
Currently there are 2 cameras which does 24p in prosumer marker:
Canon XL2
Panasonic DVX100A.
Why is 24p important ?
Before we get into that. Have u noticed any difference between your 6’o clock news in TV and a DVD movie ? 6’o clock news is crisp bright and screams video video – but DVD movie is soft and dramatic. The main reason being TV afternoon dramas, News are all shot at 60i, that is 60 interlaced video. That is 60 fields per second. But a movie is shot at 24 frames per second. Also, movie is shot in a progressive mode, while 60i is shot in interlace mode. Progressive captures the entire scene in one instant. But interlace captures 30 fields in one second, and captures the next 30 fields in the next second. Mixes them both to produce a 60 field per second.
Let take an example of a car moving, and examine how the scene will look different when shot in both formats. Progressive will capture each scene as one frame, while interlace captures half frame in one second, then the car would have moved a bit in the next second where it captures the next frame. Of course, it will not to explicitly visible to an ordinary eye – but if you PAUSE the interlaced footage you will see all the edges jagged.
So where does 24p come in here ?
Quite simply put – 24p motion closely emulates the ‘feel’ of film. So you can fool your audience into thinking that you used a 35mm film camera to shoot. Smooth pleasing motion with the correct amount of motion blur. This will take the digital (read artificial) feel out of the camera.
HDV Cameras: Note, this is one of the variants of High Def format. There are many. Sony, Canon and JVC support HDV format, Panasonic has its own HD format called DVCPROHD. HDV is high definition DV. Digital Video is 720×480 pixels (4:3 ratio like TV), HDV is 1440×1080 pixels (16:9 ratio like Movies). Another major point is, HDV doesn’t not shoot 24p.
Sony is the first one to shake up the broadcast industry to produce a camera for a measly $3,500 with Sony HDR-FX1. Again, Sony followed it up with Sony HVR-Z1U for $4,999. The main difference between these two cameras are not image quality, but more pro features. Z1u has XLR inputs (external mic) and is NTSC/PAL switchable (60i/50i)
HDV currently is awkward to edit. But as with anything in the computer world things change very fast. Also these are not 24p cameras.
HDV vs DVCPROHD
HDV is a consumer format, based on interframe compression. It takes a bunch of pictures (15) and compresses them together. Technically it is prone to drop-outs on Tape, where 15 frames just disappear leading to a frozen .5 seconds or jerk. But solid state storage could potentially solve this.
DVCPROHD is based on intraframe compression. So it compresses each frame, and is independent of the frame before and after the current frame.
HDV is 4:2:0 and DVCPROHD is 4:2:2 which leades to better color sampling.
HDV is 25mps data while DVCPROHD can be as high as 100mps.
HDV can be recorded into orinary MiniDV tapes, while DVCPROHD needs special tapes or P2 solid state cards.
Upcoming 24p cameras:
Panasonic HDX-100 about $6,999 – $9,999 will shoot in many flavors. Standard DV (DVCPRO25), Digi-beta (DVCPRO50) and DVCPROHD (High Def). This will also sport a solid state storage device (like compact flash in dSLR)
JVC GY-HD100 about $6,999 – $9,999 will have interchangeable lenses and shoot a variant of HDV called ProHD. ProHD is a hacked HDV format which does a 24p. So you get best of both worlds. HDV and 24p. Unique
Digital Moviemaking has finally arrived!
I can see you rolling your eyes…
Yeah, yeah, they said the same in 1996 when Sony released VX1000, they said that when 3CDD camcoders hit the shelves. They keep saying the same thing over and over that it becomes the story of the ‘Crying Wolf’. There should be some audit for Marketing Fluff.
Ok, now that I have released my big beef with the overused cliche’s. Here is the big news!
Digital Moviemaking has finally arrived!
Why ? Because a new HDV camcoder has been released Sony FX1 ($3299) and its big brother Sony Z1u ($4999). This is the first time a High Definition camera has been released which is below the magic pro-sumer mark of $5,000. To put this in prespective, it was $40,000 an year back, and $100,000 2 years back.
Can it become $999 over the next few years ? Quite possibly, but you would lose out on grabing this when it is within arms reach and lose over 2 years of shooting/learning time.
So, should we go out and buy a Fx1 or Z1u – the answer is ‘NO’
Wait till April 18, 2005 if you can. That is when another big daddy Panasonic is going to announce its answer to Sony’s Fx1/Z1u. Why April 18, you might ask – that is when NAB happens in Las Vegas, NV. NAB is broadcast industry’s biggest and baddest annual conference.
There are rumors of HDX100, the DVCPRO-HD avatar of the cult favourite DVX100. This year things are hotting up for a budding indie moviemaker.
Like the internet arrived in 1996 to the masses, 2005 looks like the year when moviemaking arrives to the masses.
